Posted!

Join the Conversation

Comments

Welcome to our new and improved comments, which are for subscribers only.
This is a test to see whether we can improve the experience for you.
You do not need a Facebook profile to participate.

You will need to register before adding a comment.
Typed comments will be lost if you are not logged in.

Please be polite.
It's OK to disagree with someone's ideas, but personal attacks, insults, threats, hate speech, advocating violence and other violations can result in a ban.
If you see comments in violation of our community guidelines, please report them.

04/11/2009

Dear Trish: What did R.E. Thomason do to have a hospital named after him?

Robert Ewing Thomason was born in Tennessee in 1879. He graduated from the Southwestern University at Georgetown and the University of Texas at Austin Law School.

Thomason came to El Paso in 1911 and established a law practice with Tom Lea as one of his partners.

Thomason was elected to the Texas House of Representatives in 1916. In his second term he was unanimously elected Speaker of the House.

Aware of the fraudulent voting practices in the border area, Thomason introduced a bill requiring that all voters be U.S. citizens and cast their ballots without outside help. During his administration the first Texas Highway Commission Act and the first Workman's Compensation Act were passed.

At the end of his second term in the Texas House and after an unsuccessful bid for governor of Texas in 1920, Thomason returned to El Paso and his law firm.

Thomason was later elected mayor of El Paso and served from 1927-1931. While mayor, he and the City Council brought to the city natural gas, the first municipal airport, the first traffic lights and air mail.

“Get all the education possible, and honest endeavor will do the balance.”

R.E. Thomason

Thomason was elected as the U.S. representative from Texas' 16th District and served in Congress from 1931-1947. He was a member of the House Military Affairs Committee and authored the bill establishing Fort Bliss National Cemetery and the Thomason Act, which allowed qualified reserve officers to obtain permanent Army commissions.

In 1947, Thomason was appoint U.S. District Judge for the Western District of Texas by President Harry Truman. In 1962 it was reported that Thomason's court was the "busiest federal criminal court in the state and is consistently one of the busiest criminal courts in the nation."

Thomason died Nov. 8, 1973, at the age of 94.

The county's hospital was named after Thomason in 1963. Although just last month the hospital district's board of directors voted to change the name to the University Medical Center of El Paso, Thomason will continue to be honored -- the hospital building at the medical center will be renamed Thomason Tower.

Here is a Q&A with "R. Ewing Thomason; President of Kiwanis," published in the El Paso Times in 1922:

Q: When and where were you born?

A: In 1879, at Shelbyville, Tenn.

Q: When did you move to El Paso?

A: 1911.

Q: What induced you to come here?

A: Climate, and the thought that it is the coming city of the southwest.

Q: What is the earliest event you recall?

A: My father had a swift horse he used in emergency calls as a doctor. The horse ran away with me. He didn't get rid of me, and the folks had a time catching him.

Q: Where were you educated?

A: In Southwestern University at Georgetown and the University of Texas at Austin.

Q: What was your ambition as a boy?

A: To be a doctor.

Q: How many children have you?

A: Two.

Q: What is your favorite sport?

A: Baseball.

Q: What one thing does El Paso need most?

A: Practical farmers in the valley and factories in the city. They should go together.

Q: If you were counseling a young man going in business what would be your advice?

A: Get all the education possible, and honest endeavor will do the balance.

Trish Long is the El Paso Times' archivist and spends her time in the morgue, where the newspaper keeps its old clippings and photos. She shares some of this history in her blog, Tales From The Morgue. If you have a question about El Paso's history or would like to find out what happened to an area newsmaker, send her a comment at elpasotimes.com/blog/talesfromthemorgue/

Posted!

A link has been posted to your Facebook feed.

05/27/1971 - LBJ MAKES EP VISIT - "It was a birthday visit," announces U.S. District Judge (ret.) R.E. Thomason, left, as he and his wife chat with former President Lyndon B. Johnson outside the El Pasoan's home. Johnson visitied Judge Thomason, an old friend, as a surprise for his 92nd birthday. El Paso Times

09/30/1961 - FRIENDS MEET AGAIN - U.S. Customs Judge Jed Johnson, left, stands with U.S. District Judge R.E. Thomason in front of pictures of long-time friends of the two ex-congressmen who served together in the House of Representatives before becoming federal judges. El Paso Times

05/27/1971 - CLOSE FRIENDS - Federal Judge R.E. Thomason, left, was a close an intimate friend of former President Lyndon B. Johnson. The two first met whenJohnson was a boy of 12, and Thomason had just been elected a speaker of the Texas House of Representatives. Johnson's father, then a member of the State Legislature, helped Thomason gain the post. El Paso Times

01/10/1956 DISTINGUISHED CITIZEN - Federal Judge R.E. Thomason (center) was named El Paso's outstanding citizen for 1955 by El Paso Board of Realtors at a banquet Mondaynight. Presenting the plaque was Dick Hudnall (left), outgoing president of the board. at right is Ed Gossett of Dallas, speaker at Monday's banquet. El Paso Times

07/24/1962 - FEDERAL JUDGES IN EL PASO - Three federal judges are presiding in separate sessions of court in El Paso this week. They are, left to right, U.S. District Judge R.E. Thomason of El Paso; Chief Justiceof the U.S. Court of Claims Marvin Jones of Washington, D.C., and New York, and U.S. District Judge Leo Brewster of Fort Worth. It is the first time in history that three federal judges have presided in separate curt session in El Paso. El Paso Times

08/2/1947 - JUDGE THOMASON TAKES OATH - Former U.S. Rep. R.E. Thomason, who served his distict for almost 17 years in Congress, Friday became the junior U.S. district judge for the Western District of Texas. He is shown (right) taking the oath of office which was administered by Judge Ben H. Rice, Jr., senior judge of the district. El Paso Times

04/25/1959 - FIFTY-YEAR MASON - Federal Judge R.E. Thomason, center, poses with Randall eugene Briscoe, grand master of the Masonic Order of the stat of Texas, right, and John T. Bean, deputy grand master of the Grand Lodge of Texas, left, Friday before receiving a pin for 50 years of membership as a Mason. El Paso Times

Federal Judge R.E. Thomason, President Harry Truman and Robert L. Holliday stride along briskly as the president prepares to board his train to continue his Texas tour after a speech in El Paso. They are followed by a Secret Service agent. The railroad employee at the right stopped his work for a moment to get a good look at the president. El Paso Times file

1/02/1959 - BECOMES JUDGE - Woodrow Wilson Bean, right, takes the oath of office as county judge, as Federal Judge R.E. Thomason, administers the oath. Judge Bean holds the family Bible, in the Bean family more than 100 years. The activities tookplace Wednesday morning in the 34th District Court room before an overflow audience of well wishers and dignitaries. El Paso Times

09/01/1961 THOMASON TROPHY AWARDED - U.S. District Judge R.E. Thomason, left, Thursday made the first presentationof the "Thomason Trophy" which will be awarded to Border Patrol units in the El Paso sector for outstanding marksmanship. Winner of the initial award was the Alamogordo Border Patrol Unit represented by Senior Patrol Inspector Thomas E. Swain, right. The Alamogordo unit won with an average score of 411 witha a possible of 450. In the center is Chief Patrol Inspector Herman C. Moore of El Paso who recieved the trophy from Judge Thomason and then presented it to Swain. El Paso Times

04/12/1957 - NEW MAYOR - U.S. Federal Judge R.E. Thomason, one-time mayor, reads the oath of office to Raymond Telles who was sworn in as mayor Thursday afternoon before a packed Council Chamber. El Paso Times

10/19/1952 A golden anniverary scroll signed by employes of the Popular Dry Goods Co. was presented by A.S. Jacobs, (second from left) Popular's credit manager, as "a token of loyalty and esteem to the management" at a banquet in Hotel Cortez honoring employes who have been with the Popular for 25 years or more. Receiving the scroll are Maurice Schwartz, (second from right), president, and Ervin H. Schwartz, (right), vice-president, while Fedeal Judge R.E. Thomason, (left). [romco[a; s[ealer at tje event, looks on. (Photo by McElroy) McElroy/El Paso Times

05/02/1963 - FEDERAL JUDGE TO RETIRE - R.E. Thomason, U.S. District Judge for the Western District, told newsmen at a press confernece that he will retire June 1, but will stay in Federal service as the frist Federal Senior judge in Texas. El Paso Times